A Trip to Edinburgh

My family and I seem to be pretty good at going on impromptu days out up and down the country. Today, we ended up in a very busy Edinburgh.

This was away from Princes Street, which is where the market was, so it was practically dead

Scottish Santa

The Scott Monument

Walking through the Christmas Market

You can't really see here, but there was literally a wall of people right the way down Princes Street

A man dressed up as Alien

A view of the market from the Monument

There was a small London Eye type thing next to the Monument, and an ice rink

A very high up ride in St Andrews Square

And finally, Christmas shopping in Jenners. Very sparkly.

It was a really nice day out overall, albeit rather cold. The Scott Monument was particularly blustery, but running up the steps trying to avoid people was good fun. I had to sit down for a while afterwards, though. The Christmas Market smelt and looked amazing, although we didn't get a chance to buy anything as we were swept along with the crowd, and it was a big crowd. Princes Street was manic; I was clinging onto my dad for dear life. It was like sardines, but with people.

One Direction: Midnight Memories Review (sort of)

The long awaited 3rd album from One Direction was released on Monday, and I think it’s safe to say it’s gone down a storm. The entire album was leaked a week or so before its release, but I stuck to my motto of ‘delayed gratification' and waited until the 25th to listen to the songs. It's quite literally like Christmas come a month early for me, and I was not disappointed in the least. I know that may sound biased, but the album on a whole is a very strong record with a large variety of tracks and lyrics. There’s a common theme of catchy riffs and choruses, but all 18 tracks each bring something special Midnight Memories.

Considering the majority of the songs were recorded whilst on a world tour, they’ve done a pretty good job of it. The boys have also done a lot more writing for the album, with some help from McFly and songwriters from their previous albums.

The first track is Best Song Ever, which was also the first single to come from the LP, followed by Story of My Life, the second single. The two tunes are basically the inverse of each other, but both are equally as good, and memorable. I think my personal favorite song is Happily, closely followed by Don’t Forget Where You Belong. Strong and You and I are other popular ones, but there definitely isn’t a weaker song. Like I said before, they each bring something different to the album as a whole, and the end result is pretty darn good.

One Direction have definitely done a lot of growing up since the X Factor in 2010, and this album is solid proof of that. There is a stark contrast between their first album and this one. The boys themselves described it as much grungier, and I think I agree with them. Some songs are pretty rocky, with heavy electric guitar and drums, and others are little more than an acoustic guitar accompanying the vocals. Some songs are about heartbreak, and others are about… well, Midnight Memories. What can you say; they’re boys.

All of the tracks have got me singing along to the chorus after only 1 or 2 listens, and they definitely stick in your head. I’ve even taken up a few lines as mantras for this week of mock exams, and I’ve received a few pissed off glares from my ‘neighbours’, tapping out the drums on the exam desk. Oops.

The lyrics aren’t complicated and you don’t have to be smart to understand them, like some other artists’ lyrics, but they’re good fun, and they’re relatable and if I carry on I’ll sound like I’m plugging their album. Which I’m not. I just really like it, genuinely, honestly and seriously.

Catching Fire Review

Ever since seeing the first film, I have been patiently waiting for Catching Fire to be released. Many people think sequels are never as good as the original film, as the sequel is often a disappointment. Catching Fire was the polar opposite of a disappointment. The second film was definitely as good as The Hunger Games, if not better. The plot was true to the book, which I always like to see in films like this, especially when they quote verbatim from the book. There’s one scene near the beginning where Katniss wakes Haymitch up by pouring water over his head, and the following dialogue is literally copied out of the book. Suzanna Collins, the author of the trilogy, had some input in the writing of both the films, but they each had a different director. Catching Fire was directed by Francis Lawrence, who is also directing the final two films. I googled him, and the only other titles I recognised was Water For Elephants and a Britney Spears music video.

Despite his genre inconsistency, I thought he did a really good job of Catching Fire. There were a lot of close up, personal shots, contrasted with big sweeping panoramas of District 12 and the arena itself. There were also a few shots I’ve never seen in a film before; Caesar Flickerman, a TV presenter within the film, was talking into the camera, as though you were watching his TV programme, rather than a film. Some of the other characters did it too, whilst Caesar was interviewing them, which was a bit disconcerting. It’s rather odd having characters in a fictional story talking directly to you rather than to each other. Whilst on Caesars show, one of the Tributes swore during her interview, which was bleeped out. Going with the TV element again, it was something I’ve never seen done before in a film; they never dub the words out, as they’re part of the script. It was interesting, to say the least.

I’ve always thought the soundtrack for films is super important, as the music can make or break the film.  The underscore throughout Catching Fire works really effectively. In the poison fog scene, as Katniss first notices it, it’s deadly silent, adding to the ghostliness and eeriness of it. Then, in pretty much all the running away scenes, there’s an explosion of drums and tension, giving the audience a real sense of the atmosphere at every moment in the film. I particularly like the drums whilst the Tributes are in their chariots, riding down to the President’s Circle. It’s hard to explain if you haven’t seen the film, which I thoroughly recommend you do.

There are also plenty of tear-jerking moments that made my vision blur. Some of them I knew were going to pull at my heart, having read the books, but I cried at Effie. Twice. That was unexpected. Prim, Katniss’s sister, screaming after her when Katniss is taken to the games once again, made my heart break, and Katniss stepping in front of the whip for Gale, then Peeta doing the same for Katniss was heart wrenching too.  It’s a very emotional film, and brilliantly put together, although the books are written with amazing skill, so Francis Lawrence had a bit of a head start.

I did feel like the ending was a little rushed, and not explained as well as it is in the book, or acted as well either, but the rest of the film was so full on and fast paced, there was bound to be a little grey area somewhere. Catching Fire was definitely one of the best films I’ve seen in a long while, and the Blu-Ray shall be being purchased.

I found a clip of the drums I was talking about here

Vampire Weekend Setlist

I found a set list for the Vampire Weekend concerts, and I've had a listen to the songs I'm not familiar with. Not a massive fan of 'Walcott', although it did make me laugh a little. But, other than Walcott, I think I prefer their older songs!

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/vampire-weekend/2013/phones-4u-arena-manchester-england-43c4f7db.html

An Inspector Calls

I wanted to write this review, because An Inspector Calls has really made me think about many different things, which are all interlinked with one another. The play has made me think about its themes, in essence; responsibility in particular, and morality. Some people are much more willing to take responsibility for their actions than others, who’ll do anything to shift the negative attention off them. Mr Birling kind of reminds me of a naughty school boy, who knows he’s done something wrong but is determined not to take the blame, even frame someone else if possible. ‘He did it, miss!’

Sheila, however, is the complete opposite. She’s much more self-aware, as well as being mindful of those around her. She clues on to the Inspector pretty quickly, realising that he already knows everything he needs to know. In this respect, she’s probably the most favourable of all the Birling’s, in my opinion. She still did something wrong, but she recognises this, unlike her elders.

Mrs Birling is one of the most despicable characters, I think, because of her lack of humanity, basically. Turning down a pregnant Eva, who’s at her lowest point in the plot, with no sense of remorse? Would Sybil have done the same if she’d known the child was Eric’s? Probably not.

Eric and Gerald both committed crimes of a similar nature, although they had rather different outcomes. Gerald led Eva on, knowing full well she had nowhere to go to as he knew the majority of her story, then proceeded to leave her. Part of me thinks he’s only sorry because he got caught by his ex-fiancée, not because he did it. Eric, however, came to Eva at the end of a drunken night, and met up a few times after this, giving her money that wasn’t his, ultimately driving Eva to Mrs Birling.

I think the story is very well planned out and written, and teaches the audience a valuable lesson. Whilst reading the play, I couldn’t help but think ‘How can 5 people all be involved with one individual, all at the same time, more or less?’ It seemed very unlikely, even for a fictional text. So when Gerald comes back in to save the day, and the Birling’s and Gerald collectively disprove the Inspectors case against them, uncovering the fact he wasn’t an Inspector at all, I was like ‘I knew it! I knew it all along!’

So when the phone rang, rather ominously, I experienced a ‘pride before a fall’ moment, just like we had discussed in class, concerning Mr Birling. The story came full circle, with two rather unexpected twists in quick succession. I find it fascinating that the case against the Birling’s involvement with Eva could be either completely false, or completely true.

An Inspector Calls does teach us a rather important life lesson, and it could be interpreted in many different ways. I think that J. B. Priestly is trying to teach the audience to beware of how even your most minor actions can affect those around you.

Songs/Artists

Mr Worsley, as a sort of 'thank you' for introducing me to the Dutch Uncles, I'd like to share some music with you in return. There are too many tracks I want to show you, so I've shortlisted my top 3 :)

Diagrams - Black Light
Diagrams are worth googling because they're a group of rotating musicians, I think, or a solo project? Something like that!

San Cisco - Fred Astaire

Kodaline - All I Want

And these are my two favorite Dutch Uncles songs :) 

Dutch Uncles - Fester and Cadenza

Choices

Today, at school, we had a ‘What To Expect Next’ morning, where we rotated round the Project Room, the library, the New Hall and Rooms 13/14. Each room had a different aspect of being in the Sixth Form, and most of it was really awkward, talking to sixth formers who perhaps didn’t really want to be there.

Some were more helpful than others, telling us what some of the most important traits are in a sixth former; things like being passionate and organised, and self-disciplined. I’ve never really seriously thought about what Sixth Form might be like, but I have a much better idea now.

At the end of the morning, after some cake and tea, we were given the Sixth Form prospectuses and a time table for the list of talks being given about all the different subjects you can do at A Level. The English talk was scheduled today as well, so I toddled along to that, as I’m pretty set on doing Literature for A Level. Now that I know more about what the Lit course involves, as well as the Language course, I’m sure it’s the right one for me.

But today has really made me think, especially after seeing the entry requirements for all the subjects across the board; pretty much all of them require a bare minimum of a Grade B in that subject at GCSE as well as English Language, despite needing 5 A*-C’s to get into the actual Sixth Form.

With these mocks coming up, it’s made me realise I really need to up my game now if I want to get the results I want come Results Day next year. I just struggle to find motivation to revise and put in the effort, but hopefully this will spur me on a little. I don’t really know what else will.

I feel as though we’re given a billion decisions and choices to make, with little to no idea what the outcome will be, at a very early age. I haven’t even sat a single GCSE exam yet, and I’m being made to decide what A Levels I want to do? I know it’s a long process but it’s kind of like ‘seriousness overload’ for me. I already had mock exams to worry about and the summer exams and now massive A Level decisions to worry about. And I’m good at worrying, believe me.

I realise this is something every student has to go through but when there’s so many things going on at one moment in time, it’s hard to prioritise things and make the right decisions and I guess I wish everthing would slow down a little. I thought this Sixth Form morning was just to to tell us a bit more about the facilities and the topics you cover and what is expected of you etc etc etc. So when we were handed prospectuses and application forms with the deadline at the end of this month, it was a ‘hang on a second’ moment.

I think I’m just panicking. And splurging.

My Day In Pictures (A Trip to Carlisle)

A collection of very interesting photos to illustrate my day!

I woke up

We drove to the train station in Dad's new car ooo

We arrived at the train station

We got on the train

It rained

We went to Nandos...

...and ate some chicken

We went shopping

We went to Starbucks

We went to Lush

We got on the train home, but had to wait for almost an hour for it to leave the station because there was a poorly train further up the tracks

So Dad bought us some mince pies to help us through

I got bored so I opened some water which fizzed everywhere - exciting

We got moving, but had to stop again whilst they moved the dead train off the tracks

When we got home, there was a bit of a storm. Here's some hail stones.

And this is a flash of lightning.

Then I did some homework

Then I watched Strictly.

So that was my Saturday. 

I just fancied doing this 'Through My Eyes' kind of thing. It was quite funny making everyone wait for me so I could take a picture of everything :)